Connecticut switches to electronic health records for prisons

Connecticut switches to electronic health records for prisons

HARTFORD (AP) — Connecticut’s Correction Department is switching from a paper to an electronic system to deal with the health records of prison inmates.

Officials said Friday the new system is designed to make it easier to develop comprehensive management of an inmate’s medical, dental, mental health, and substance abuse treatment.

The department says it will providers immediate access to patient health information; a more effective referral process to outside care providers; and the elimination of miscommunication inherent with handwritten notes.

The system, developed with GE Centricity, has been in planning for five years.

It comes as the prison health system transitions in July from being run by the UConn Health to being controlled again by the Correction Department.